Live Edge Walnut Mantel Clock

This piece of curly English walnut came from Talarico Hardwoods in Pennsylvania. I stopped by there over the summer and bought some odds and ends, the coolest of which, in my opinion, was this. It’s a little over 2” thick, 25” long and between 5” and 7” tall. I knew what I was going to do with it as soon as I bought it, but it took a little while to purchase the necessary components and so forth.

From left to right, there is a clock with wenge plug inlays at 3, 6, 9 & 12, a thermometer, hygrometer and barometer. The latter three say they are 2 3/4” fixtures but they fit snugly into a 2 1/2” hole. I started those openings with a 2 1/2” hole saw, removed some extra material with a 2” forstner bit and used a straight bit on a trim router to finish the job.

For the clock, I started with a 5/16” hole for the shaft. A forstner bit removed most of the material and then I slowly stepped down with the router to make the opening. To cover the clock, I used a small piece of wenge with rabbets all the way around and rare earth magnets sunk in flush on both pieces. Honestly, it doesn’t line up that well and wants to lean a bit towards the top, but it’s the least visible part of the piece and not something I’m going to lose much sleep over.

Because the bark was a little unstable, but still a key part of the piece’s appeal, I wanted to use a film finish that might strengthen it and hold it together. Sherwin Williams CAB acrylic lacquer did the trick, and it did a nice job of highlighting the figuring as well.

I have a art/craft show coming up in a couple of weeks and am planning on displaying it there. Hopefully it sells, but if not, it looks pretty nice right where it is!

Thanks for checking it out.

-- Jay Gargiulo, Naples, FL www.swallowtailwoodcraft.com "Once you understand the way broadly, you can see it in all things."- Miyamoto Musashi

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6 comments so far

Beautiful work. Where did you get the clock and weather station components? I have a slab of live edge black walnut that was made into a clock, and I have a nice brass weather station (everything except the clock), and I have a nice slice of hickory that might like to hang on the wall as a new weather station.

I got the components from Klock It, which you can find on Amazon. The barometer was pretty expensive ($14) but the others were less (~$7). Not sure how that compares to other suppliers but it had the look I was going for and seemed reasonable.

Looking forward to seeing your project on here.

-- Jay Gargiulo, Naples, FL www.swallowtailwoodcraft.com "Once you understand the way broadly, you can see it in all things."- Miyamoto Musashi

Looks great, nice use of an interesting piece. Regarding the unstable bark, you can use CA glue to stabilize it. It’s a lathe trick that would work here too, and it also works well if the wood is punky or spongy.